Renner Barsella, renner.barsella@sierraclub.org
SIOUX CITY, IA – Kayaker Graham Jordinson, set out on July 18th from Three Forks, Montana, to embark on a 2,341 mile journey down the Missouri River to its confluence with the Mississippi River in St. Louis, Missouri. The aim of his journey is to raise awareness about the detrimental impacts coal fired power plants have on our environment, climate, and water resources. Sioux City will be his first scheduled stop on his coal plant tour, where he will meet with local Sierra Club members to talk about MidAmerican’s George Neal North and South coal plants.
“I hope that my journey will help spark the connection about the energy choices we make and how that impacts the land, air, water, and people along the Missouri River and beyond,” said Graham Jordison, an Organizer for Sierra Club’s Beyond Coal Campaign.
Jordison is expected to arrive in Sioux City on Thursday September 9, 2021. Local community members will gather to welcome Jordison at Chris Larsen Park on Thursday evening at 6:00 PM. Jordison will resume paddling down the river on Friday morning, September 10, 2021 at 8:30 AM. Community members plan to paddle past the George Neal coal plants outside of Sioux City. Space on boats or spare boats may be arranged for media if requested in advance. Jordison will be available to the media throughout his journey. Interested followers can watch live updates of his progress via a GPS tracker here.
What: Missouri River Kayaker Stops in Sioux City
When: 8:30 AM, Friday, September 10, 2021 (Launch by 9:00 AM)
Where: Boat Launch, 116 Larsen Park Rd, Sioux City, IA 51101
Who: Kayaker Graham Jordison and local environmental advocates
Background on MidAmerican’s George Neal Coal Plants:
A report, released by the Sierra Club in 2020 found that MidAmerican Energy’s George Neal North and South coal plants near Sioux City have lost $27.5 million for its customers over the last five years. Low energy prices in 2020 only worsened the performance of these plants, which are the most expensive in MidAmerican’s coal fleet in Iowa. The report, which was based on analysis of MidAmerican’s own data, showed that by committing to retire both plants by 2023, MidAmerican could save customers $92 million.
Testimony filed by Sierra Club, Environmental Law and Policy Center, and the Iowa Environmental Council earlier in 2020 shows that retiring Neal North (also called Neal 3) by the end of 2022 would lower the cost of energy by as much as 18% over ten years when employing a ‘green bond’ and noted Neal South (also known as Neal 4) operates with worse economics than Neal 3 and that retiring that plant by 2022 could see as much as 23% savings over 10 years.
Background on Graham Jordison:
In 2014 Jordinson kayaked all of the Mississippi River and since then says he’s been dreaming about paddling North America’s longest river, the Missouri. Through social media he is working to raise at least 1 dollar for every mile of the river he paddles. Funds will be donated to the Sierra Club and to indigiounous tribes along the river in Iowa and Nebraska.
The coal plants Jordinson will pass along his journey span five states, seven utilities, and collectively cause 328 premature deaths while releasing 50,551,915 tons of carbon dioxide annually. Here is a map of the coal plants. The data is sourced from Toll From Coal.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with more than 3.5 million members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.